1Ls, I was only being semi-flippant earlier in the thread. This is a horrible way to deal with the stress of waiting for grades, and you should not get in the habit of doing any of the things you've been doing in this thread. Take your exams, and then forget about them. Do literally anything you want, but stop thinking about exams.

LawShopeful wrote:Speaking of Fall grades. Did any of you have to submit them when you were applying for law school (after you already submitted your transcript/sent applications off) or did you just submit final transcripts at the end of the year after the admissions cycle and decisions were made?

My GPA dropped a little since Fall gaffes have come out. I’m not sure how much that matters since the GPA I applied with was good.

Thanks!

Hi - this forum is for discussion by law students only, and this question has nothing to do with the topic of the thread, so please just keep the discussion in the thread you created on the topic.

No problem! My apology’s, I just wanted an answer and I figured that those having already gotten into law school would know for sure, and since you were disscussing Fall grades of another sort I thought I’d ask. However, I don’t want to get you guys off topic & I can see you don’t intend on actually answering the question. I sure hope this isn’t the type of attitude my peers have when I begin. Happy Holiday though! I hope everything works out and your grades were good

I've always been really anxious about grades, never been able to think about anything else when grades were pending. Here's how I feel about mine.

1)Civ Pro, I felt like I did great, really improved from all the areas I'd fucked up in with the practice exam. Then again this one was open book so beating the curve is going to be tough because everyone in my class had all the knowledge they needed for the exam at their fingertips.

2)Contracts, thought I did the first few questions really well and then fell off in quality towards the end. Cautiously optimistic because the last question I didn't know the answer to and was sure I'd gotten it wrong but with hindsight it looks like it was a trick question and I might not have messed up. Btw does anyone else have any fall finals that are worth only 25% of your grade while the spring is worth 75%? Found that to be weird with this one.

3)Criminal-Honestly think I did very poorly. If I am anywhere near median on this one, I'll count that as a win. Misstated several terms. Think I did really well on one obscure question I think probably tripped up a lot of my classmates, that might save my ass, it might not.

4)Torts-Understood everything real well but wasn't able to finish spotting all the issues for the last question in time, though I got a lot. This exam has more impact on my GPA than the other three, so I'm putting the lionsshare of my hopes into this one but it was open book so I'm skeptical I was able to find things my classmates couldn't.

Wish everyone else the best of luck with their grades(I'm pretty sure you all go to different schools,so you all being valedictorians would make me feel really good)!

I had a dream that I got a C in criminal law yesterday and woke up thinking it was real so that put me in a great mood waiting for grades.

I honestly feel like even though obsessing about waiting for grades is not healthy, it’s nice to be able to talk about insecurities and since it’s unlikely any of us go to the same school/are in the same section it could be good to get exam thoughts out here.

Civ Pro: monster take home test. I think I did well, in theory, it was a very conceptual exam applying rules or precedent to nuanced fact patterns that no prior cases have hit on. But it was a take home so I’m sure all of my classmates were able to do well too.

Contracts: my professor literally wrote the book and told us that the highest scoring exam last year only got 40% of the points on the test. I actually finished and it seems a lot of my classmates were crunched for time, especially on the essays. I know I talked about something on the essay that the only classmate I talked to about the test missed, so I feel ok there, but I have no idea how I actually did. I also talked about something on the first essay without calling it by it’s name and I’ve lost some sleep over that.

Criminal Law: all of my classmates thought this one was easy. I didn’t think it was easy but I didn’t think it was super difficult either. I thought one question, in particular, was very nuanced and tricky. I also know criminal law the best out of the three classes, so I had high hopes for this final. However, since everyone thought it was easy the curve will likely be tough to beat.

Is anyone doing anything fun over break? I’m going to Cancun next week and I cannot wait!

Last edited by Legallylawyer2020 on Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ferrisjso wrote:Then again this one was open book so beating the curve is going to be tough because everyone in my class had all the knowledge they needed for the exam at their fingertips

but it was open book so I'm skeptical I was able to find things my classmates couldn't.

I don’t think that’s true about open book tests. If anything I think open book can trip people up if they think they can look everything up. I don’t know what your exams were like but all of mine were open book. I know that if I had to stop to look up a third of the things I talked about I wouldn’t have had time to come anywhere close to finishing. I even had an 8 hour take home test and if I had been trying to learn it all while writing the exam I never would have finished (though this take home also was not testing black letter law it was testing ability to apply existing rules and precedents to new fact patterns that haven’t been decided yet).

Last edited by Legallylawyer2020 on Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ferrisjso wrote:Then again this one was open book so beating the curve is going to be tough because everyone in my class had all the knowledge they needed for the exam at their fingertips

but it was open book so I'm skeptical I was able to find things my classmates couldn't.

I don’t think that’s true about open book tests. If anything I think open book can trip people up if they think they can look everything up. I don’t know what your exams were like but all of mine were open book. I know that if I had to stop to look up a third of the things I talked about I wouldn’t have had time to come anywhere close to finishing. I even had an 8 hour take home test and if I had been trying to learn it all while writing the exam I never would have finished (though this take home also was not testing black letter law it was testing ability to apply existing rules and precedents to new factptterns that haven’t been decided yet).

Yep, I learned the hard way that thinking you can rely on your outline takes up way too much time! I knew the material and wasted some time looking something up just to make sure I had my arguments *perfect*. Thank goodness I'm a fast typer.

Legallylawyer2020 wrote:I honestly feel like even though obsessing about waiting for grades is not healthy, it’s nice to be able to talk about insecurities and since it’s ublikely any of us go to the same school/are in the same section it could be good to get exam thoughts out here.

+1. Look, older students, I get that you think this isn't healthy, but if it's helpful for us, we are entitled to discuss it without your commentary.

Legallylawyer2020 wrote: Is anyone doing anything fun over break? I’m going to Cancun next week and I cannot wait!

I went to Vegas with my boyfriend for my birthday and visited my mom in Florida (who I hadn't seen since August)! So much fun.

Legallylawyer2020 wrote:I honestly feel like even though obsessing about waiting for grades is not healthy, it’s nice to be able to talk about insecurities and since it’s ublikely any of us go to the same school/are in the same section it could be good to get exam thoughts out here.

+1. Look, older students, I get that you think this isn't healthy, but if it's helpful for us, we are entitled to discuss it without your commentary.

No one is being overly aggressive about this, and literally everyone telling you that this isn't healthy is doing so because we've seen what happens to students who do this. People in my class ended up seriously fucked up by participating in these kind of post-exam anxiety-fests.

This isn't about a bunch of curmudgeons trying to rain on your parade. You literally have no way of knowing how damaging this kind of activity can be, because you haven't been through it before.

Legallylawyer2020 wrote:I honestly feel like even though obsessing about waiting for grades is not healthy, it’s nice to be able to talk about insecurities and since it’s ublikely any of us go to the same school/are in the same section it could be good to get exam thoughts out here.

+1. Look, older students, I get that you think this isn't healthy, but if it's helpful for us, we are entitled to discuss it without your commentary.

No one is being overly aggressive about this, and literally everyone telling you that this isn't healthy is doing so because we've seen what happens to students who do this. People in my class ended up seriously fucked up by participating in these kind of post-exam anxiety-fests.

This isn't about a bunch of curmudgeons trying to rain on your parade. You literally have no way of knowing how damaging this kind of activity can be, because you haven't been through it before.

Dude, you need to pipe down. You give some excellent advice on this site, but people would take it a lot more seriously if you toned down the assholery a bit. Yeah, I know how damaging it can be because I am going through it right now, and I personally find it helpful to talk about it with other students rather than not talk about it all. On the other hand, talking with people at your school who took the same exam can be very unhealthy - and I would recommend avoiding that. But 1Ls from different schools discussing waiting for grades is perfectly fine if they find it helpful, and your negative attitude doesn't have a place here.

blair.waldorf wrote:Dude, you need to pipe down. You give some excellent advice on this site, but people would take it a lot more seriously if you toned down the assholery a bit. Yeah, I know how damaging it can be because I am going through it right now, and I personally find it helpful to talk about it with other students rather than not talk about it all. On the other hand, talking with people at your school who took the same exam can be very unhealthy - and I would recommend avoiding that. But 1Ls from different schools discussing waiting for grades is perfectly fine if they find it helpful, and your negative attitude doesn't have a place here.

Highlighting the best portions for posterity.

But please, let me know when you find anyone who has already been through 1L who approves of this approach. The posts from people who are currently getting drunk and enjoying themselves in fun locations? Those are the people you should be emulating. And if telling you to enjoy yourself makes me an asshole, I am an enormous asshole. Huge. The worst.

blair.waldorf wrote:Dude, you need to pipe down. You give some excellent advice on this site, but people would take it a lot more seriously if you toned down the assholery a bit. Yeah, I know how damaging it can be because I am going through it right now, and I personally find it helpful to talk about it with other students rather than not talk about it all. On the other hand, talking with people at your school who took the same exam can be very unhealthy - and I would recommend avoiding that. But 1Ls from different schools discussing waiting for grades is perfectly fine if they find it helpful, and your negative attitude doesn't have a place here.

Highlighting the best portions for posterity.

But please, let me know when you find anyone who has already been through 1L who approves of this approach. The posts from people who are currently getting drunk and enjoying themselves in fun locations? Those are the people you should be emulating. And if telling you to enjoy yourself makes me an asshole, I am an enormous asshole. Huge. The worst.

I've gotten drunk and enjoyed myself with my boyfriend and family, but thank you for asking! I also think it's valid to discuss the anxiety of waiting for grades with other 1Ls and not unhealthy.

Legallylawyer2020 wrote:I honestly feel like even though obsessing about waiting for grades is not healthy, it’s nice to be able to talk about insecurities and since it’s ublikely any of us go to the same school/are in the same section it could be good to get exam thoughts out here.

+1. Look, older students, I get that you think this isn't healthy, but if it's helpful for us, we are entitled to discuss it without your commentary.

No one is being overly aggressive about this, and literally everyone telling you that this isn't healthy is doing so because we've seen what happens to students who do this. People in my class ended up seriously fucked up by participating in these kind of post-exam anxiety-fests.

This isn't about a bunch of curmudgeons trying to rain on your parade. You literally have no way of knowing how damaging this kind of activity can be, because you haven't been through it before.

Dude, you need to pipe down. You give some excellent advice on this site, but people would take it a lot more seriously if you toned down the assholery a bit. Yeah, I know how damaging it can be because I am going through it right now, and I personally find it helpful to talk about it with other students rather than not talk about it all. On the other hand, talking with people at your school who took the same exam can be very unhealthy - and I would recommend avoiding that. But 1Ls from different schools discussing waiting for grades is perfectly fine if they find it helpful, and your negative attitude doesn't have a place here.

I actually agree with Blair.waldorf. People are different and handle stress and anxiety differently. Personally, my stress is alleviated if I can actually get my thoughts and feelings out as opposed to bottling them up and not talking about it at all.

Now, talking with my classmates would be a nightmare because I may have missed things they spotted and vice versa (already know my classmate missed the statute of frauds being an issue on contracts essay because we chatted about that exam and I mentioned discussing it and I know I missed something on contracts that he spotted).

Talking to other 1Ls and going through the waiting game together isn’t necessarily going to have a negative impact. Maybe it will- but, again, if it does it’s on us. I noticed you don’t spend time on the LSAT thread berating them for waiting for their scores- how exactly is this different?

It depends on the person and how each person handles stress. If talking about exams or distracting ourselves until grades come in helps any of us at all, it’s worth it (in my opinion).

Thank you for the concern, but I think we are all adults here and can make decisions for ourselves and deal with the consequences (if there are any) of our decisions ourselves.

Oh and I have been enjoying myself. I’m also going to Cancun next week with law school friends to enjoy myself. Getting drunk everyday isn’t a healthy approach either. Seems like you aren’t against unhealthy behavior if you support 1Ls getting drunk everyday of winter break. You’re only against behavior you disagree with. I feel better getting my thoughts about exams out. I also then tried to refocus the thread on what fun activities we are doing the rest of break.

mcmand wrote:There's a difference between talking about your feelings of stress and anxiety and working through them and rehashing/ruminating the answers to an exam that you can no longer change.

The former is healthy and useful for coping. The latter is a symptom of an anxiety disorder, or at a minimum, an unhealthy habit that will make you more miserable.

You don't have to believe us or take our unsolicited advice. But the therapist you'll see (if you aren't already), either in a few months or a few years, will end up telling you the same.

Being defensive about someone pointing out your unhealthy behavior is not productive. Cav may have been a little blunt but he's not wrong.

I'm out. Take this or leave it.

Have you read what people have said about their exams on this thread? People have been giving opinions and saying how they felt about their exams but there has not been any rehashing or ruminating about answers. There have also been attempts to focus people on other topics so we can chat amongst ourselves about topics unrelated to exams while we wait for grades.

I certainly appreciate where you’re coming from. The doom and gloom is unnecessary. If this thread has numerous “omg this was our hypo and this is what I put what do you guys think?” or “I wish I had talked about x, y, z on my exam but I didn’t omg” posts your advice would be warranted. So far, it’s just been people saying how they felt about their exams (rather succinctly I think) and that’s it. That in and of itself is fine and I’d argue it’s healthy behavior.

I think you and Cavalier jumped the gun. I get you both have good intentions. Maybe just let us make our own decisions though. That’s how people learn. Advice is great in threads asking for advice. Regardless of intention, unsolicited advice generally comes across poorly. I know you’ve been where we are and undoubtedly you know much more than we do about law school and law. That doesn’t mean you know how we, as individuals, personally process or deal with stress. No one has said much that leads me to believe there’s a lot of rehashing or ruminating going on. This is an outlet that, thus far, people seem to be using productively. Let. Us. Be.

Idk, the old recession-era waiting threads looked like a lot of fun and I'm just trying to emulate that- you worry for a month and then find out you got straight A's, right? /s

I'm enjoying READING again - material that isn't just casebooks and supplements and legal stuff. Been sleeping an obscene amount, it's wonderful. Remembering how to talk to non-law school human beings.

basketofbread wrote:I'm enjoying READING again - material that isn't just casebooks and supplements and legal stuff. Been sleeping an obscene amount, it's wonderful. Remembering how to talk to non-law school human beings.

I slept for a solid 12 hours the last two nights and it’s been amazing! Also started reading all of the novels I set aside during the semester. It’s been glorious.

basketofbread wrote:I'm enjoying READING again - material that isn't just casebooks and supplements and legal stuff. Been sleeping an obscene amount, it's wonderful. Remembering how to talk to non-law school human beings.

I slept for a solid 12 hours the last two nights and it’s been amazing! Also started reading all of the novels I set aside during the semester. It’s been glorious.

Ferrisjso wrote:Then again this one was open book so beating the curve is going to be tough because everyone in my class had all the knowledge they needed for the exam at their fingertips

but it was open book so I'm skeptical I was able to find things my classmates couldn't.

I don’t think that’s true about open book tests. If anything I think open book can trip people up if they think they can look everything up. I don’t know what your exams were like but all of mine were open book. I know that if I had to stop to look up a third of the things I talked about I wouldn’t have had time to come anywhere close to finishing. I even had an 8 hour take home test and if I had been trying to learn it all while writing the exam I never would have finished (though this take home also was not testing black letter law it was testing ability to apply existing rules and precedents to new fact patterns that haven’t been decided yet).

Wow and here I was thinking closed book was the norm! Yeah I think I fell into this trap for Torts, but if there's three questions and I did the first two really well and then the third I gave brief but correct answers though I missed some I'm trying to convince myself I'll be in a better place than those who did better on the third question and sped through the first two. I had no trouble finishing the closed book exams so I think my anecdotal experience supports the concept that open book exams are a curse in regards to time.

basketofbread wrote:I'm enjoying READING again - material that isn't just casebooks and supplements and legal stuff. Been sleeping an obscene amount, it's wonderful. Remembering how to talk to non-law school human beings.

I slept for a solid 12 hours the last two nights and it’s been amazing! Also started reading all of the novels I set aside during the semester. It’s been glorious.

Ferrisjso wrote:Then again this one was open book so beating the curve is going to be tough because everyone in my class had all the knowledge they needed for the exam at their fingertips

but it was open book so I'm skeptical I was able to find things my classmates couldn't.

I don’t think that’s true about open book tests. If anything I think open book can trip people up if they think they can look everything up. I don’t know what your exams were like but all of mine were open book. I know that if I had to stop to look up a third of the things I talked about I wouldn’t have had time to come anywhere close to finishing. I even had an 8 hour take home test and if I had been trying to learn it all while writing the exam I never would have finished (though this take home also was not testing black letter law it was testing ability to apply existing rules and precedents to new fact patterns that haven’t been decided yet).

Wow and here I was thinking closed book was the norm! Yeah I think I fell into this trap for Torts, but if there's three questions and I did the first two really well and then the third I gave brief but correct answers though I missed some I'm trying to convince myself I'll be in a better place than those who did better on the third question and sped through the first two. I had no trouble finishing the closed book exams so I think my anecdotal experience supports the concept that open book exams are a curse in regards to time.